Maggie Jones (c.1900—unknown) was an American blues
singer and pianist, who recorded thirty-eight songs between 1923 and
1926. She was billed as "The Texas Nightingale." Jones is best
remembered for her songs, "Single Woman's Blues," "Undertaker's Blues,"
and "Northbound Blues."

Biography

She was born Fae Barnes in Hillsboro, Texas. Her year of birth is
most regularly cited as 1900, although this has not been proven. She
relocated to New York in 1922, where she performed in local nightclubs.
She appeared at the Princess Theater in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in
1922, and toured the TOBA theater circuit until ca. 1926.

Her debut recording session was on July 26, 1923, for Black Swan
Records, where she became the first singer from Texas to record a side.
Her recording career saw Jones appear on several record labels including
Black Swan, Victor, Pathé and Paramount, although the bulk of her work
was released by Columbia. On Black Swan and Paramount she was billed as
Fae (or Faye) Barnes; on Pathé and Columbia she recorded as Maggie
Jones. It is unknown whether marriage played any part in her name
change.

Over a three year period, her accompaniment was variously supplied by
notables such as Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Charlie Green, and
Elmer Snowden. Jones is especially noted for her six sides on which she
was backed by Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong; author Derrick
Stewart-Baxter singled out "Good Time Flat Blues" as "her masterpiece".
With Fletcher Henderson and Charlie Green she recorded "North Bound
Blues", which contained trenchant references to the South's Jim Crow
laws that are unusual for a classic female blues singer. By October 3,
1926, Jones had cut her final disc. In 1927 she performed with the
Clarence Muse Vaudeville Company and sang in Hall Johnson's choir at the
Roxy Theater in New York City.

In 1928–1929 Jones appeared with Bill Robinson in the Broadway
production of Lew Leslie's revue, Blackbirds of 1928, which toured the
US and Canada. She often worked outside the music industry, including
co-owning a clothes store in New York. By the early 1930s Jones moved on
to Dallas, Texas, and ran her own revue troupe which performed in Fort
Worth, Texas. In 1934 she appeared in the All American Cabaret in Fort
Worth. She subsequently disappeared from the public eye.